CASST - Transparency

The Problem
The issue here seems pretty obvious - all the hockey-related disciplinary decisions are made by:

1. Reviewing Precedence (Good!)
2. Consulting various "Hockey" people :(
3. Comparing each situation against a set of pre-determined criteria (GREAT!!, depending on the criteria)

The Rant
Go read this article.  I'll wait.  (Did you see the paragraphs in the article that sounded like real leadership?  It makes you want to work for Garth Snow, doesn't it?)

Look at the comments from the NHL Senior Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell:

• "I think we've been fairly kind"  He didn't say that.  He couldn't have.  Couldn't.
• "We considered a lot of numbers."  Really?  If you had a Disciplinary Book, this would have been thought about under controlled conditions, not in a rush against the clock or with the press breathing down your neck.
• "It might be a lack of respect among a couple of players," he said, "but that's always been the case throughout the history of the game. ... You've got players who aren't able to cap it when they should. And that's why the league will always have a discipline department."  Isn't it his job to fix that?  If you remove the player's only method of policing (with the Instigator Penalty), then you have to perform very strict policing and suspensions.
• "all over the map"  I didn't expect you to make my point for me.  Thanks!

See the problem yet?  OK, let me show you what my mind tells me is wrong:

A couple of people are sitting in a room making these decisions based on what will make them the most money with the smallest amount of "crap" being stirred up.  Its a form of Kleptocracy.  It is where evil can be born.


Have you ever felt that the NHL suspensions are unfair and you can't understand WHY a particular decision was made?  Its because the NHL is more concerned with making money than with what is the right decision.  What they are missing is that making the right decisions leads to making money.




How to Implement
To improve the NHL, the process of handing out suspensions must change.  This change must become more open and transparent.  Here is the quick rundown of how to do it:

1. Most importantly, acknowledge that precedents set prior to the new system do not necessarily apply to future suspensions.
2. Building on previous posts, the NHL has to publish a Discipline book and make it publicly available.  If the book is created properly, everything else becomes easy.
3. Compare incidents that are under review against the book.
4. Publish the findings, with clear explanations about how criteria are met or not met.
5. Hold a press conference to field questions from the press about the decision.
6. Store the findings online in a publicly available repository for future reference and reporting.

CASST - Separation

The Problem
All NHL Discipline and Refereeing decisions are run by the same person - the NHL's Director of Hockey Operations.  The Director of Hockey Operations reports to, um, I don't know.  Either to Gary Bettman or Bill Daly (who reports to Gary Bettman).

The Business of the NHL is also run by both Gary and Bill.  So, the people who run the business of hockey also run the rules of the NHL games.  Do you see a conflict here?  If you don't, you can stop reading now.  You probably aren't smart or cynical enough to read anything I write.

The Rant
I swear that the NHL is the world's biggest small business. Too much power in too few hands.

The Business of the NHL is run by business people.  The hockey of the NHL is run by business people and (IMHO incompetent) hockey people.  The wrong people are making the wrong decisions.  Or more accurately, they are too close to the decision.  The Commissioner, his VPs, and their Directors are too close to the hockey decisions.  Its like an Electrical Engineer making financial decisions instead of a MBA. This is a symptom of a business that has grown in size without maturing. The NHL's Hockey Operations is the business equivalent of a 16-year old teenage boy with a mustache and a mullet.  How annoying is that?

How to Implement
The Hockey decision-making process of the NHL has to change from an Entrepreneurial mindset to a Professional one. This is one of the most difficult processes for a business to engage in.  It will not be easy and it will mean that heads will roll.  It always does.

Structure has to be put in place, which is basically what the entire CASST system is about.  The NHL is focusing (correctly, they aren't a charity) on making profits.  What they aren't doing is providing governance to their Hockey Operations department.  The current head of that group is Colin Campbell, and the decisions that he makes, which are based on fluctuating and inconsistent criteria, faulty logic, and bad judgment are consistent with the lack of structure in place at the executive level.  Campbell, or his replacement, needs to bring structure to the decision making process and live within that structure. 

The structure should look like this:

1. The Hockey Operations department is a separate organization from the NHL's business organization.
   
2. The Competition Committee reports directly into the Director of Hockey Operations.
3. Change Management is to be completed via processes.
1. All hockey-related requests made to the Director of Hockey Operations by the Commissioner is to be done in writing, and acknowledged in writing.
2. The Director of Hockey Operations has the option to refuse the change
3. If the change is warranted, the Director of Hockey Operations engages the Competition Committee to study the requested change.
4. The Competition Committee then provides a recommendation to the Director of Hockey Operations as to the feasibility of the requested Change.
5. Et cetera.
6. The process works in reverse if the Competition Committee comes up with a Change.
   
4. Of course, the Rulebook has been updated, the Discipline book created and the Quality system is in place, as well.

It is starting to look a little bit like your workplace, isn't it?  It's because you work in a Professional environment.

CASST - Standards

The Problem
Each season, the NHL provides guidance to their referees as to what is a penalty and what is not a penalty when decisions are made at executive levels as to what rule changes or rule interpretation changes are required for the upcoming season.

Why is that a problem?  Well, I'll telly you why its a problem. 


The Rant
While the NHL has improved their sport decision-making (no comment on the business) with the introduction of the Competition Committee, they have a long way to go.  Look at it this way: 

You work for a company, any company.  Your employer publishes policies for their employees to follow - things like Expense Policy, Use of Internet Policy, Hiring Policy, etc.  That is how I see the NHL Rulebook.  They are RULES.  Not Guidelines.  RULES.  These are 'Musts', not 'Maybes'.  They are 'Always', not 'Sometimes'.  Frickin RULES.

Rules are used to keep a group of people (a company, a society, etc) informed of the level of behavior that is expected from them.  Also, they provides the people who are responsible for the enforcement of the rules (police, judges, REFEREES) with clear and defined requirements to judge whether actions  are considered in agreement with the rules or not in agreement AND the penalties associated with them.

How to Implement 
The NHL needs to implement a set of standards to govern several aspects of the Refereeing and Diciplinary systems.  A good first step would be to implement the set of standards that they already have without "interpreting" them.  If a rule needs to be changed, then change it.  Stop this insulting "Interpretation" business.


As for Discipline (which means fines and suspensions), they need to come up with an equivalent.  The NHL has to create a Disciplinary Standards book.  The Disciplinary Standards would provide the basis to define the NHL's Discipline policy, including the criteria for implementing particular punitive measures (when to fine, when to suspend, etc), how to assess the severity of the punitive measure to be taken (how big a fine, how long a suspension, etc), how to deal with unexpected items and how to change the standards.A committee must be formed to review the current procedures, review what other top-tier professional sports league do, what other hockey leagues do, andcreate a new Disciplinary policy.  That policy will then be used to create the Disciplinary Standards by the same committee.   This committee must be sponsored by the NHL Commissioner (Gary Bettman) but operate outside the regular machine of the NHL to ensure that impartiality.